Sunday, January 26, 2014

Attention-Seeking

Happy Sunday, y'all!

I'm just popping in because I need.....well, I need your opinions. My issue is attention seeking and I want to know your thoughts.

Growing up I was not an 'avid reader'. My mother, an English teacher, would read books by the library bag full. I struggled as an over active kid and teenager. I have always had issues with organizing my mind, my stuff and its something I work on regularly. I am sure if the ADD or AD/HD diagnosis had been available in my youth I would have been a gold star candidate. I did manage to read books on a semi regular basis- Babysitter's Club, The Diary of Anne Frank are a couple that stand out to me now. As an adult I devoured the Harry Potter series, reading for hours at a time.

Fast forward to 2014. I am an 'avid audiobook listener'. I 'read' 2 or more books a month this way. I listen to podcasts and read blogs. I made a goal last year to read 6 non-fiction books...and I only made it through 2. Something about sitting down and focusing on something like text for a long period of time has become so hard for me.

Am I the only one?

In this world of 140 character conversations, Tumblr posts and YouTube videos my already overactive mind is being rewired to go from thought to thought without really digesting it.

Am I the only one?

I don't mean to sound overly dramatic. Lord knows I am not losing sleep or looking at myself in the mirror and thinking 'loser-go read a book, why don't you?' Because, well....that would be mean. However, I do think that I need to WORK on this habit. In this year of WORK I think I could really benefit from learning some new skills, and re learning the enjoyment I get from reading. I want to read some of the books out there on business, creative living or maybe a great memoir? I made a goal today to read this book for a solid hour.

How To Win Friends.... is so far very interesting. One of the topics it ponders is how to truly influence people amongst all the noise of social media. Boy, did that resonate with me. I am a little embarrassed to admit that reading for a solid hour was kind of hard. Not only did I read for exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes (because I looked at the clock), I thought about writing this post, what my cats were doing, what I would say on Twitter? I mean....really. One hour should not have been that hard.

So, in summary- I have a little WORK to do. I think I am realizing that I need to turn off the iPod every once in a while. Maybe what I need is less noise and more focus in the present.

If you have made it to the end....thanks. I really appreciate you for reading my very self indulgent post today! Now, share your thoughts. I would really love to hear if you have felt the same way or not. If this is something you find important....or not.